Second Chance
by ADorkette
Summary: Bulma was adopted almost 6 years ago by the Briefs. Now there's someone new in the neighborhood, and she has a strange feeling that she knows him. But how? Well she's got her mind set on finding out... RR!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yea, I suddenly came up with the idea for this story the other night and JUST STARTED WRITING! So I guess just tell me what you think and I can swing either way! Hope you like the first chapter (kinda short tho, haha. Sry bout that…)

Disclaimer: NOPE… don't own 'em L

Bulma sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had never realized how difficult building a tree-house really was! Things sure looked a hell of a lot easier on that "projects for the home" show!

She set the hammer down and looked around at her accomplishment. It was nothing special really, just a wooden platform fairly high up in a tree basically, but she had used some long, wooden beams as railing, and had somehow found a way to put a roof over half of it! She had even made a rope ladder! The tree she had built it in was in the woods surrounding their neighborhood. Not very dense woods, but enough for privacy and the occasional high-and-go-seek game, she thought, referring to the younger kids who loved to hang out in the woods. Overall, she was quite proud of her work. What more could a five year old want?

Just then, a pair of small, chubby arms wrapped around her waist, and she heard her favorite little voice squeal, "Is it done? Is it done? Is it FINALLY done?"

She laughed and replied, "Yes, yes, yes! It's FINALLY done!" She turned around to face Brandon, her adorable little brother. He had come along right after she had!

Bulma had been living with the Briefs for almost 7 years now. They had adopted her from the orphanage when she was 11 years old. Ironically, only a few months afterwards they had conceived Brandon! For awhile she was afraid they might send her back since they had a child of their own, but they had assured her that would never happen. They had always shown he a loving home since the adoption though, and after the long period of adjustment to this new life, she had grown to love them. Especially little Brandon!

"When can I start playing in it?" he asked, breaking her out of her little trance, but before she could even answer, he asked again, "When can we bring my toys up here? When can I show my friends? Oh, oh! When can I sleep up here for a whole night! When can I…" The rest of the words were muffled as Bulma put a hand over his mouth in an attempt to silence the little boy.

"The answer to all of those questions is: after we clean up this mess," she said, referring to all the sawdust and excess nails and wood lying around.

He groaned in complaint, but quickly began helping her pick up anyway.

The next day, Bulma sat next to her window and watched as movers carried boxes from a couple a large trucks and into the Patterson's old house. This had been going on for about 3 days now, and was supposed to be the last of it. Maybe the family would show up today…

Then, as if by magic, a tan colored SUV pulled up the driveway. A middle-aged looking couple climbed out. The man was quite tall and appeared solidly built, with fairly short black hair that was tinted gray around the edges of his hairline, and he had very… intense features. Even though there was a small grin on his face now, it didn't look like he smiled too often. The woman who now stood next to him was more petite. Her hair was long and stick straight, and it was a lovely chestnut color… She had a small smile on her face, but, again, didn't appear to be a typically happy-go-lucky woman.

After a few seconds, someone else got out as well. An angry looking boy about her age climbed out, but didn't pause by-what she guessed were- his parents. He, unlike his pale parents, had olive skin, and spiky black hair. Instantly she thought he looked familiar, but why? She had no recollection of ever meeting him, no known memories of him… just a sudden nagging feeling. Well, she thought, he _does _look about my age… maybe I'll see him in school tomorrow…

It wasn't until her 3rd period the next day that she saw the new boy. He walked in about 5 minutes late, and simply walked over to where the teacher was sitting at his desk in the front of the room. Without saying a word he dropped a small piece of paper in front of the teacher, then just stood, waiting.

The teacher read the note and, afterwards, stood up with a large grin saying, "Welcome to our classroom, Vegeta! My name is Mr. Chase, and it's a pleasure to meet you!" He stuck out his hand.

Vegeta simply looked down and stared at it. After an akward moment, Mr. Chase cleared his throat nervously and drew his drew his hand back.

"Yes, well… is there anything you would like to tell us about yourself?" he asked.

Vegeta scowled and simply shook his head, no.

"Ok then…" Mr. Chase cleared his throat again, "Your seat will be over there, in the back, if you'd like to have a seat now."

He stood and glared at the jittery teacher for a few more seconds before finally turning and walking down the aisle to the end of the second row. He stared straight ahead until he came near Bulma. She was next to last in the first row and suddenly he looked down and made complete eye contact with her for a split second. Then he turned his gaze back to where it had been before, and walked right past her.

- - - - - - -

Thru the rest of class Bulma simply couldn't focus. She still had that nagging feeling, and to top it off, throughout the entire class she could feel Vegeta's eyes glued to her. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, and she hated that feeling… She just wanted to turn around and throw him her most deadly glare, but knew it would do no good. She would just have to put up with this until the end of class…

So she simply sat and waited while Mr. Chase handed out papers she and her parents would have to sign to understand this year's English curriculum, agree to his rules, blah blah blah, it was the same as usual. She shifted uncomfortably. If there wasn't anything productive going on during class she became bored quite quickly… this was clearly one of those times…

When the bell did finally rang she hung back a little and packed the paper in her large, black purse slowly. She was in no hurry to get to Pre-Calc, and was too distracted by her thoughts to rush either way. The next class was sure to be the same as this one anyway, papers, lectures, and boredom, as would the class after that, and after that, and after that… It was all the same on the first day, except for, of course, lunch. She had second lunch this year, so it would be after her next class.

Suddenly she became aware that a pair of eyes were still glued to her. It was very unsettling, so she turned to finally throw him that glare, but by the time her head had turned, he was moving away and walking out of the room. All she could was humph in disdain and watch him go.

- - - - - - -

She walked into Pre-Calc four minutes later just as the bell rang. Close one, she thought. She picked one of the three seats left in the back and sat her purse down next to her. Leaning forward, she rested her chin on her fist and closed her eyes for a moment taking a deep breath.

"Is this seat taken?" a voice next to her ear asked.

She opened her eyes and felt a smile come over her, but quickly covered it up with a scowl, and said, "What do you think genius? See anyone sitting in it?" A playful punch came from her male companion and she let the smile back onto her face. "No, Yamcha, no one's sitting there. Great observational skills though."

"Hey, go easy, I figured I'd ask just in case. Maybe I should sit over there though if you're going to be so rude about it!" He laughed as he pointed to the only other seat , which was just diagonal from her.

"Psh! Fine, maybe you should," she replied jokingly. Not surprisingly he just pouted and took the one next to her.

- - - - - - -

A/N: Thanks, btw, to anyone who reads these little thingers, and thanks SO MUCH to anyone who's reviewed thru these 6 months (I forgot to mention, my laptop's been busted since Feb., so that's another excuse), and keep it up! I'm sorry this was so short, but I wanted to update, and this will all get better! Love ya!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Next chapter! Whoo for better updating skills! Newayz, hope you guys enjoy, and I shall chatter on no more!

- - - - - - -

She sighed contently and grinned inside at the small victory. The rest of the class went by without a hitch. At the end she waked with Yamcha through the halls to the cafeteria. She was pleased when he told her all of their other friends miraculously had second lunch as well.

She walked in with him and she instantly saw their friends at a table across the room. She grabbed his hand and led him in their direction. Her stomach flipped as she did so. She had had the biggest crush on Yamcha for awhile now, and he hadn't the slightest idea. It was a disappointing thought, but she wasn't exactly sure if she ever wanted to actually date him anyway. He had a bit a reputation and she wanted to keep hers intact. She wasn't a big dater. It wasn't that she didn't like dating, but the only guys who ever asked her out were the ones that she felt more comfortable staying friends with, so she turned them down. She hadn't found the right person yet was all, and she doubted she would find him in high school…

A loud, "Hey!" from ChiChi was what brought her out of her ridiculously deep thoughts. She swiftly dropped Yamcha's hand and returned the greeting, taking her seat next to Chi and her boyfriend, Goku.

They chattered for a few moments before Yamcha interrupted and told the group, "Oh, by the way, I met a kid this morning and told hi her could sit with us if he didn't have another place. I'm pretty sure he was new, so let's hope I didn't make a jackass outta myself by saying that…"

"But, dear Yamcha, you'll always be a jackass to us regardless of whether or not he was new," 18 said very calmly. Bulma couldn't help but giggle a little at that, as did everyone else.

"Yes, well, I figured I'd just tell you…" he replied.

"What's he look like?" Chi asked excitedly.

"All I remember is his funky hair," Yamcha told her, "Really dark brown or black colored…"

"That doesn't seem so strange to me," Krillin replied, but at the words 'funky hair' Bulma felt a twinge go through her.

"Not that! It was all spiked up!" he responded to Krillin, "And it was kinda long, so I dunno how he gets it to stay there-"

Bulma interrupted, hoping beyond hope he was talking about someone else, "Did it almost go into a widow's peak?"

"Yeah, I guess, if you mean it was kinda pointy up top."

"Yeah, well I know exactly who who're talking about, he's my new neighbor, and in my English class too…" she told him, "Really quiet, and likes to stare… Doesn't seem like the nicest pers-"

"It SEEMS like that, because I'm NOT the nicest person, but thanks for noticing," came a gruff voice from behind her.

Even though she had never heard the voice she knew exactly who it was. A bit strange when you thought about it, but it wasn't that she knew it was him just because of the previous conversation, it was that tingling feeling that traveled up her spine. It was a strange feeling she had never experienced before, but she still felt like she KNEW him, like there was some familiarity between them. She couldn't put her finger on it though and it was killing her!

She whipped around without another thought, "Any time, I'm good like that."

He let out a rough sigh and sat down across from her at the last open spot.

"Now Bulma, don't be so hard on the guy, he is new after all," Yamcha said as he gave Vegeta a small punch from across the table.

Vegeta merely scowled and glared or a few moments before returning his attention to the food he had apparently picked up on the way to the table.

After that, Bulma just kind of let it go, and chattered aimlessly with her friends. As hard as she tried, however, she couldn't get him out of her thoughts. She refused to look at him, but he was still staring and it was making her insane!

She didn't know what she was going to do about this…

- - - - - - -

Bulma sighed, frustrated to the fullest extent… She could not get this boy out of her mind, and she didn't even know him! Over the next few days she found out that she and Vegeta had Pre-Calc together after all. He just hadn't come the first day. She also had two of her last three periods with him.

GAH! How frustrating! He was still carrying on with his staring dealio, and wouldn't talk to her. Now, to boot, Yamcha was showing interest in her. After all this time, NOW his interest had sparked…

Every time Vegeta looked at her though, she couldn't help but feel that tingling feeling that started in her stomach and traveled up her spine to her chest, and it was really beginning to bug her. Still that knowing feeling as well. Like when a word or answer is caught on the tip of your tongue, and the harder you tried to think of it, the harder it was to come up with…

She couldn't deny he was an attractive boy though. She laughed inwardly at the idea. She was only a few inches taller than herself, but he made up for it with his solid build and that tall hair gave him the small advantage of making himself even taller, and those eyes- though they were almost black in color, they had a glow and shine to them that reminded her more of obsidian than anything else.

He frowned too much for his own good however. The guy would have wrinkles by the time he reached 19 if he didn't lighten up a bit. She wanted to know what he was thinking right that moment.

"What are you staring at?" he whispered maliciously across the table. Well… that answered her question. She was snapped out of her thoughts, and realized she had been staring, and that everyone else had left. Lunch was almost over and she had barely touched her food! Gah, the boy was affecting her eating habits now. She almost laughed at the thought.

"You," was all she said.

He was clearly taken aback by her reply. No blush, no real reaction from her, and she still hadn't even looked away. At first he couldn't think of what he was going to say next, but it came out, "Come over on Friday."

"What!"

Now THAT got a reaction out of her. He made a small smirk, "Don't you feel we have a lot to catch up on?"

Her eyes got wide and he smirked even more. He was really getting to her now. He could tell she still didn't remember him…

She searched his empty eyes for some clue as to what was really going on here. A sick prank? A play on her suspicions? She was so confused, but decided to go along with it. Foolish or not, she had to know if she really did know him, or she just thought she did…? Before she could reply she realized she had been lost in her thoughts once again and she was the only one left in the cafeteria. She sighed and began her speed walk to her next class- luckily without Vegeta- German.

- - - - - - -

The woman was quite entertaining when she was confused, Vegeta thought to himself in his next class. He wondered if she would take him up on his offer… If she did it would prove to be a most entertaining night, he was quite sure of that. Well, he wasn't sure of it, he didn't even know what he would do, where to start! He supposed he would have to play it by ear, but he didn't have a very good ear when it came to people.

When it came to her….

He didn't even know anymore.

He sighed, rested his cheek against his fist, and stared at the clock until class ended, lost in his thoughts.

- - - - - - -

What could she do? Say yes? Say no? She didn't even know this guy… well, maybe she did… he said she did! He could be lying though, but who would- who COULD- make something like that up? She was fairly sure he hadn't read her mind either. She never told anyone her thoughts, not even her best friends.

Chi and 18 were great and all. She loved the girls, and hanging out with them and the rest of the guys, and of course she could tell them trivial things, such as when she thought a boy was 'cute', or to yell about world events- even if they had no idea what she was talking about.

She had never talked to them about where she came from though, and she wasn't much of a talker outside her group of friends either (a lot of the time she wasn't even a big talker inside the group). She had blocked or forgotten most of her 'past' by now anyway, which could explain why didn't recognize Vegeta, if she really knew him. Oh Kami, back to the confusing stuff!

She growled inwardly at it all. She hated being puzzled, especially when it came to emotions. If he was serious though, she was sure that he would ask again, and she would just have to cross that bridge whenever she came to it.

Simple.

Or at least she hoped it would be.

- - - - - - -

After the bell finally rang, Bulma began her long journey to the other building for Study Hall in the 11th and 12th grade cafeteria. She sighed, once again lost in her mind. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

She smiled and waved at a few friends who passed by her going the opposite direction. She hugged someone else a few seconds later, a guy she hadn't seen in awhile.

When she DID finally reach the café she dropped her bag down on top of an empty table and without missing a beat, she walked up to get a chocolate milk and brownie. Ah… chocolate high- her favorite kind! She paid the lunch lady and sat down, ready to dig in, just as two arms wrapped around her torso.

"Are you coming, or what?" a voice whispered hoarsely in her ear.

Her mouth curved nervously, but decided on her answer and shoved his arms away so she could turn and answer him face to face.

- - - - - - -

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know it's been awhile and it's definitely really short, but I wanted to get it up for you guys so you would have something to go on! Still really sorry about it, but I didn't want it to be another 6 month wait afterall. So comment if you want more- and I do so hope you comment ;) I am really determined not to drop this story…


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I am so embarrassed that my chapters are so short… Sorry guys, I know that when I read stories I love nice, long chapters, but I just suck at getting long chapters and I wanted to update! So that's my explanation, and I'll try to work on it!

Also- THANX SO MUCH to the people who review for me- I personally 333 reviews and really appreciate you guys taking the time to leave me some- so keep it up ;) !

On with the show!

- - - - - - - -

She whipped around, fully expecting to answer him with a stern, "No," but somehow it came out, "Yes."

Her mind was screaming at her. You know this boy for 3 days and suddenly you're going over to his HOUSE on your Friday night? Then the other part of her reasoned that he needed to start making friends with people besides Yamcha, and who knew- maybe she could get him to lighten up around her and the rest of their friends….

Fat chance, but she knew the real reason she was going. "Don't you feel we have a lot to catch up on?" He said that, and had her. Maybe she did know him? How could you know someone and not know it though? It was all so stupid.

She snapped back to reality and saw he was smirking down at her? He put a hand on the table on either side of her and whispered, "What are you thinking?"

She turned her head away and made sure to keep a calm expression on her face, and answered monotonously, "Why don't you tell me?"

A stupid response to be sure, but she couldn't think of another answer at the moment. Her fast acting, sharp mind had been reduced to a puddle of slush for the time being. She wished he would go away for awhile so she could clear her head.

God, he smelled good… PERFECT thought to cross her mind at the moment, she thought. She hated how spontaneously her mind worked. It didn't add up at all, her mind could be all spontaneous and jumpy, and yet she never was. Her mind was an amazing thing though… It could find a connection between Led Zeppelin and clouds if ever the need should arise!

His voice interrupted her train of thought yet again. "If I knew what you were thinking I wouldn't be asking now would I?" he told her sarcastically, "My guess would be that you're thinking about me though."

Jeez, but this boy was obnoxious! How smug… and yet so true! GAH! "Ha, you wish," she said without thinking.

"Damn straight," he told her.

She eyed him up and down angrily. Well, she eyed as much as she could. He was still quite close to her after all, and there was only so much she could see. Her eyebrow quirked as it traveled back up to his face. "Any particular reason you're still so close?"

"I feel like it," he answered simply.

"Would you mind moving back a bit," she asked, thoroughly annoyed.

"Yes."

She almost growled- he was pushing her buttons and he knew it. She smiled, "What are we gonna do on Friday?"

He blinked a few times, taken aback by her sudden change of moods. He had almost forgotten. He quirked his eyebrows suggestively, "What do you think we should do?"

"It's your house." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Now he was getting annoyed. She was as tricky as he remembered. Whether that was a good or bad thing was up for debate. He frowned slightly, and said, "I'll let you know."

He pulled away and stood up straight, then turned around to leave. As he was walking across to the other side of the café, she yelled, "You do that!" not caring in particular that the teacher gave her a dirty look.

- - - - - - -

"I don't know Chi… What do you think of this Vegeta guy?" Bulma asked her friend nervously. No one knew she was going over to his house tonight, and she had no intention of letting anyone know.

"I dunno, he's kinda quiet," ChiChi replied, twirling her pen around her fingers absently, "I heard he's been asked out already though."

"What?" Bulma said a bit louder than she had intended.

ChiChi gave her an odd look as Bulma blushed and asked, "Are you interested then?"

"Ha, um… no. I was just surprised since he's only been here- what?- a week?" Bulma told her nervously.

Chi continued to eye her skeptically, but told her, "Down girl- either way he said no."

"Hn, who asked anyway?" she asked, slightly relieved. Damn hormones…

"Racheal."

"Racheal WHO?"

"Kurtz."

"He said no to HER?" Bulma asked, slightly shocked. Most guys would kill for a date with her. Slut, she thought cattily.

"I guess," Chi replied, getting annoyed by all the questions, but offered, "Her and a few others I think."

"Really?" Wow, she wondered what they could see in that arrogant mute.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" she replied, throwing her a side glance.

Bulma huffed a bit, then heard the bell ring. Saved by the bell, she thought, just about ready to explode at ChiChi and her wenchy attitude. She grabbed her purse and left the room as quickly as possible.

- - - - - - -

"Hey Bulma!" Yamcha greeted her at lunch later that day.

"Hi Yamcha," Bulma said, less than enthusiastically. She wasn't in the mood for flirting today. Her mind was plagued with thoughts of the 'mute'. She grabbed some curly fries off the counter and headed straight for the nacho cheese with Yamcha in tow.

He practically jumped in front of her, and put his arms out, motioning for her to halt. "What's up, B? You've been acting weird all day. Hell, you didn't even talk in math!" he asked, concerned.

She flashed him a brilliant, pseudo-smile, and told him, "It's nothing Yam-chops." She nearly cringed at the dumb name. "I've just had a lot on my mind today."

He smiled back and walked beside her back to the table. "Well," he said as they sat down, "I hate to put anything else on your mind then, but," she turned to face him as her feminine instincts kicked in, "I was wondering if you'd wanna, maybe, go see a movie or something, catch dinner… You know?"

Even though Bulma had been expecting the this, the question still took her a bit by surprise. She saw Vegeta's eyebrows raise as he looked up- taken by storm- out of the corner of her eye. Yamcha was watching her expectantly, and she wondered why she was taking so long to answer the stupid question. "When?" she blurted out, looking him straight in the eyes.

A large grin had come over his face. "Tonight would be awesome, actually!" he told her.

She an uncomfortable look come over her face and threw a quick glance across the table at Vegeta. His brows were now slanted into an angry expression.

Does he expect me to just blow him off? She thought to herself.

"Sorry busy tonight," she told him with a sympathetic smile. Poor guy…

"He looked bummed for a moment, then gave a smile of his own and asked, "Are you busy tomorrow?"

Wow, persistent, she thought. Once again, she looked between Yamcha and Vegeta a few times before answering, "Nope, not busy then."

"So tomorrow would be good then, right?" he said, the large grin, once again, taking over his complexion.

"It's a date," she said with a half smile, wondering why she was as enthusiastic as she should have been. Her crush was finally asking her out; this is what she had wanted for so long.. Right?

She looked over to her other friends, all smiling- glad that their two friends were finally getting together- and over to Vegeta, who was once again frowning.

"Hey guys! What'd I miss?" Krillin said happily as he walked over to the table.

- - - - - - -

Bulma said, running her fingers through her hair nervously a few more times. She was in a simple white tank top and jeans with her black Chucks. She had NO idea what to expect since she hadn't even really talked to Vegeta since Study Hall on Wednesday. It was nerve-racking. She supposed she just have to dive head in and go-with the-flow on this one.

Brandon was jumping on her bed happily. "Where ya going, Bulma?"

She turned around and gave him a look that clearly meant, 'quit jumping and sit'. He stopped instantly, and she laughed at the obedience, he was so cute! "Well, I'm actually going next door," she told him.

"Why?"

"The new boy that moved in asked me to," she said as she sat down on the bed next to him.

He sat down in her lap, "Do you know him."

"Well," she paused, taking a few minutes to figure out a good answer, "I do have a few classes with him, but I don't know that much about him yet?"

"Then why'd he ask you?"

"I don't know!" she said, laughing. "What's with all the questions, little man?"

"Does he like you?"

"I don't think so?"

"Then why do you have to go?" he whined, "I want you to stay home and play with me tonight!"

She ruffled his hair apologetically, "I know, Iknow, but I already told him I would go. Otherwise you know I'd be here with you!" It was true. She went out with her other friends occasionally, but not every weekend. Sometimes she wished she was the kind of person who liked to go out and party all the time- like they were-, but more often than not she perfectly happy at home, alone.

Brandon groaned a bit, then huffed and said, "Fine…"

She got up off the bed and replied, "Well, I'd better get going." He followed her down the stairs and all the way to the front door.

"When are you gonna come home?"

She turned around on her way out, "Not too late, but it might be past your bed time. I'm not really sure, hun. I'll only be next door though, so don't worry so much."

"Okay, bye Bulma," she said and reached his arms up, signaling that he wanted a hug. She complied, yelled good-bye to her parents, and was off.

She cut across the lawn, and then across his to the front door. She rang the doorbell, but no one answered. She tried again, still no answer.

"Back here," a familiar voice yelled from the back yard.

She wondered back slowly, and suddenly an object came flying at her. Luckily she caught it before it smacked into her face, but was a bit stunned for a moments afterward. She snapped out of it, and looked down, then back up at him. "This is what we're doing?"

"Yup," he said monotonously, "Football."

- - - - - - -

A/N: Well… I was contemplating just leaving you hanging there and NOT telling you what they were going to do, but w/e, I felt kind tonight.

Lol, newayz, longest chapter yet! I'm so happy, and I hope you guys like it!

…You could always drop a review though and let me know for sure ;-) …


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Too tired to write an author's note… Here ya go…

- - - - - - -

"Football?" she asked, confused. She usually didn't play football with any of her other friends. She liked the game and all, but she hadn't really had the opportunity to play since… since… well hell, since she was at the orphanage. That was such a long time ago though when she thought about it. It really wasn't on the Briefs' to-do list.

"Football," he affirmed solemnly.

A thought cossed her mind, "Do you mean tackle, or…."

"If we were played tackle you would already be on the ground beneath me," he scoffed, then added with a smirk, "Come to think of it, maybe would should play tackle."

She laughed, "Maybe not."

He shrugged acceptingly as she threw the ball back across the yard. It was a messy throw, but it got the job done. He threw it back perfectly. Strong arm, she thought..

"So you're going out with that idiot tomorrow." It was more of a statement than a question, bt she stilll felt obliged to answer.

"It would appear so, if the 'idiot' you're referring to is Yamcha."

"Who else?"

"Any number of people," she told him truthfully.

He smirked at her reply. "Why?"

"Why what?" she asked, confused again.

"Why are you going out with that IDIOT?" he made sure to stress the last word as he threw again.

"Why not?" she replied, sticking her nose slightly higher in the air as she caught.

"Well for one, because he's an idiot," he told her matter-of-factly. She almost laughed at his answer. It was just the way he said it, she supposed. She threw again, but he had to run forward a few steps to catch this time. He shook his head in disapproval. "You know you're doing that all wrong, don't you?"

"Throwing?"

"Yes!"

"Well SORRY. Haven't had much practice lately!" Did he expect her to be perfect at it?

"Would you like to know what's wrong?" he asked calmly- so calmly that it was amazing, she thought.

She eyed him skeptically, then gave in with a sigh. "I suppose so…"

"Is that a yes?"

"YES."

"Well, for one, your wrist goes limp in the middle of it, and you also don't extend your arm far enough to put ANY distance in the throw," he told her.

She had no idea what he was talking about, much less how to fix the problem. How could he tell all that after just a few throws anyway. She caught his pass, then tried to stiffen her wrist and straighten her arm when she threw this time. She must have tried too hard or something- the ball barely made it 5 feet.

She looked down, more than a little embarrassed as she heard his deep-throated laughter from across the yard. She looked up to see him kneeling over with his arm across his stomach, laughing away.

She marched across the grass to his side of the lawn and slapped the top of his head defensively. He looked up for a brief moment, then suddenly lunged at her and tackled her to the round. So much for this not being tackle football, was the first thought that came to her mind after the initial shock had worn off. She then realized he was now straddling her waist with a hand on the ground on either side of her head. She looked up to see he was staring down at her. She stared right back.

"Don't slap me, woman," he warned, lowering his face inches away from hers.

"Don't laugh at me jerk," she retorted, placing her hands on his chest in an effort to push him off. She had never been in position such as this, and it was just a BIT discomforting to be in it now with a virtual stranger. …Why had she come here?…

He wouldn't budge, "Still don't remember me, huh?"

She gave him a baffled look, "Should I?"

He didn't respond, but looked her over a few times before swooping down and placing his mouth over hers. Her eyes shot open in surprise, but instantly closed half-way as she couldn't help but relax when that warm feeling came over her stomach. She put her hands on his waist as a forgotten memory took over.

_Warm… spring time… she could almost feel the breeze blowing against her cheek as she looked over at the little boy next to her… he was holding her hand and smiling back…_

Vegeta pulled away, and the memory was gone. She threw him a confused look, "Why?"

"You were there," he shrugged it off, "I felt like it."

Her eyes hardened a bit, he FELT like it? Fine, if that was all it was to him, that's all it would be to her. She shoved him off, and now it was his turn to look up at her, confused. She stood and brushed herself off a bit, "Fine, now that you're done, can we please work on my passing?"

She began to walk back towards the ball, and heard him ask, "Who says I'm done?"

"I did," she told him nonchalantly.

He stared at her in disbelief. This was not the girl he knew, this type of stuff wasn't so casual for her. He saw her sit down, Indian-style, next to the football as she absently spun it around a few times. Uh-oh, maybe he had said something wrong…

Jack-ass, she thought, he actually expected more than that out of me just because ' I was there'. Stupid…

He crawled over the few feet and sat behind her. "What's wrong now?" He hated to sound so harsh, but it was just the way he was.

She turned half way and glared before turned back around, "What do you think?"

"I hate it when people say that," he told her. It was true!

"Say what?"

" 'What do you think'. I wouldn't be asking if I had even some clue as to what was wrong!" he said, ticked.

She smiled a bit, knowing that he couldn't see, "I posed the question to make you think. Figure it out."

He sighed angrily. "Because I said something wrong?"

"Warmer."

"That's as close as it gets."

She turned around briefly. "It was what you said after, well, you know."

"We kissed?"

She pointed a finger, "You kissed."

"Oh, you were really fighting me there!"

She turned back around, defeated, "Anyway…"

"What? That I felt like it?" he asked in disbelief, shifting to she side a bit, trying to see her face.

"Uh, cha."

He assumed that this meant 'yes'… "Well I DID feel like it, and you WERE there, sweet."

What a nickname… sweet, she thought. "That didn't mean you had the right to just swoop in there! Not to mention I'm going out with Yamcha tomorrow, hun!"

He frowned, "So what? It's not like you're going steady with the guy! And let me tell you, you did not seem as thrilled as everyone else at that table when he asked."

"What? Of course I was happy! I've had a crush on the boy since… forever!" she spun around as she answered and saw him frowning again.

"You can't have like him 'since forever', because you haven't even been here 'since forever'!" he shouted angrily.

"How the hell do you even know that?" she asked, "And what is with all this crap about catching up, and asking if I remember you?"

He glared at her, "First of all, I just know, enough said. Second of all, I don't know how it's even possible for you not to remember me considering everything, but it REALLY pisses me off that you DON'T."

"What are you TALKING about? Why can't you just tell me who you are?" she said, throwing her arms up in frustration.

"You'll just have to remember on your own, little woman," she told her, grabbing her arms, and looking her straight in the eyes. For a minute there she thought she saw something. She wasn't even sure what it was though. Hurt? Anger? Sorrow? All three? She shoved her away, and she back fell back against the grass.

He turned sideways and rested his forehead on his palm. Why couldn't she remember him? It infuriated him to no ends, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. If she couldn't think of it on her own, then it just wasn't worth it…

He felt a hand fall lightly on his shoulder. He turned, never letting the scowl leave his face for even a second. She was taken a bit aback by the pure anger she saw, but was too curious to let go of his shoulder.

"What am I supposed to remember? Where did I know you? How?" Her voice was soft, and oh-so confused. He almost gave in right there, but knew he couldn't.

He turned his head back away to stare aimlessly ahead of him. "I already told you, you'll have to find out on your own…" his voice was just a soft, but ten times harsher.

She grabbed his chin and turned him back. "How? I don't remember a lot from before I moved here. Did you go to school with me or something?"

He sighed and looked past her, "In a way."

She plopped down, completely flabbergasted, and rested her cheeks against her fists. He cocked his head and looked over at her. Why was this so hard? "I can't…" she mumbled, half to herself, and half to him, "Not right now." She looked up.

His frown had mostly lifted, but he wasn't letting anything up. He stood up, grabbing her hand as he walked along. She stumbled a bit as he kept on walking, before finally being able to stand up all the way. It was getting dark outside.

Where could they be going now.

She asked him as much, and he replied, "The tree house."

"What tree house? MY tree house?" she was a bit in shock.

"Yes."

"But… but… why?"

"We're going to count stars."

- - - - - - -

A/N: Yea, yea, I know it was kinda a weird chapter. Did anyone think it happened to fast? If so, just let me know. Also let me know if you liked it an what not.

Thanx a lot to the people who do review, I really appreciate it guys! So It's about 1:30am now, and that's about an hour later than I planned to stay up and work on this, but I really wanted to review, so yea!

Hope you guys are enjoying the longer chapters, I'm actually thinking of going back and combining some of the first chapters or something so they'll be longer for new readers… Any thoughts there?

Anyway, too-da-loo guy! (REVIEW!)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Haha, yea, I know Bulma shouldn't have given into it so easily, but I couldn't resisit, I get impatient I guess, lol. Wow, I'm being a good updater, huh? Lol, I'll see what I can do about this chapter…

_**NOTE: I combined the first 3 chapters to make it in to only 2 chapters, so YES, this is a new chapter, I just replaced the other chapter 5, with this one.**_

__

- - - - - - -

"To count… stars…?" she questioned. This had to be one of the most random-acting people she had EVER met… It was a bit disconcerting, but she couldn't resist going along with him. It was a refreshing break from her mapped-out life. Spontaneous… fun… new! Still a bit strange either way, however, even scary. She was letting a complete stranger drag her all around, and up into her tree house. For all she knew…

"Good, so now we know your hearing is okay," he replied sardonically.

She rolled her eyes and felt him drop her hand and hop right over the fence. She simply stood and gawked up at the top of the fence. How had he done that? It was a wooden fence that must have been six feet high.

His head appeared over the top again. "What are you waiting for?" he asked impatiently.

"What do you mean?" she responded in astonishment, "I can't do that!"

"Oh quit making such a big deal out of it." She sill wasn't moving. He sighed and told her, "Look, just jump up, grab the top, and PULL YOURSELF OVER." He disappeared, so she figured this was her chance to try without the worry of embarrassing herself in front of him. If it didn't wok, she could always walk around the long way.

She backed up a bit, then made a running start and jumped, grabbing on to the top of the fence. She was only a few inches off the ground but it felt like she was hanging off a cliff as she flailed her legs, frantically trying to get up and over the edge. She just barely got her chin over the top before falling back- right on her bum.

"Ouch!" she whined quietly rubbing the sore spot. She heard a hearty laugh coming from beside her. She looked over, mortified to see Vegeta leaning against the fence a few feet away. He was staring at her with a smirk on his face. "How long have you been standing there…?"

"Long enough."

She eyed him skeptically. "How'd you get there though? I didn't see you hop over."

"That's because I didn't 'hop'," he said, using air-quotes, "I walked around."

"So why can't I just do that?" she inquired, still sitting on the ground.

He sighed, "Because I don't want you to."

What was with this guy? Hadn't anyone ever told him you don't always get what you want? "Well I really don't care what you want, because I'm not going over that fence tonight!" She attempted to get up, but realized the grass was a bit slick just around the time she slipped and fell back again. "GAH!" she yelled in frustrating.

He snickered, then replied, "Fine, we'll have to go to plan 'B' since you're clearly having problems even standing up on your own."

"Huh?" She cocked her head at him.

He walked over and stuck a hand out. She merely stared at it a few minutes before accepting his help. He pulled up quicker than she had expected, and swung her around to face his back, then swiftly bent down, grabbed behind him for her knees, and pulled her up on to his back (in to a piggy-back).

She was stunned for a moment- he had done all of that so swiftly… and without her consent come to think of it. She pounded on the back of his shoulders, being careful not to fall however, and said, "WHAT do you think you're doing?"

"Going to the tree house," and he was off, walking right along without any ifs, ands, or buts. She nearly lost her balance at the beginning, so he leaned forward a bit until she regained it. After that, she flung her arms around his shoulders and neck in alarm. She didn't want to fall down for a third time in ten minutes.

He still smells good, she thought guiltily. She was, quite literally, taking time to smell the roses. It wasn't as if she was snorting and inhaling every two seconds, but the scent was a bit hard to miss considering her cheek WAS resting against the back of his neck.

He smirked at the feel of her skin against his. He had missed it. They had been so young back then though, and it hadn't really meant as much. Hard as it was to think about, he had missed the girl. How pathetic…

"To count stars?"

That sent him right back to reality. "What?"

"We're going to the tree house… to count stars."

"Hey, you're really catching on," he told her sarcastically.

They finally made it to the base of the tree and he let her down, and began climbing up the 'ladder'.Really it was just a mess of boards nailed to the tree. She mischievously watched from below for a few moments, admiring the view, before following in suit.

By the time she got there, he was standing up near one of the beams she had put up as a rail and looking all around him.

"It really is a nice view at night," she told him.

He turned around slightly, just enough to see her face. It really was getting dark though, and she could barely see his expression it was so covered by shadows.

- - - - - - -

"_How could you do that?" she heard a little boy scream as she covered her face with her hands and cried into them. "You can't leave me now! It's not fair!"_

"_What can I do?" she heard a young girl, herself, scream back in frustration._

"_Tell them no! Tell them you won't do it," he begged her, grabbing her hand._

_She yanked it back angrily. "You just want me to give this up because it's 'not fair'?" she asked quietly, "Now **that's** not fair…"_

_He looked up at her, most of his face covered in the shadows of all the tree branches and dying leaves and bushes that surrounded them. "If you're going to do that, then I don't ever want to see you again anyway."_

- - - - - - -

Bulma bit her lip as she thought of it. She hadn't thought about that night in a very long time… It as the night before she left to come here.

"I can SEE that it's a nice view," he replied before laying down on his back in the middle of the platform.

She laid down beside him. She supposed she couldn't just stand there like a dolt while he was relaxing. "I just figured I'd-"

"State the obvious?" he interrupted. She threw him a glare before he turned his gaze back up to the night sky. He complained quietly, "There are too many lights."

She turned to look at him and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I MEAN," he told her angrily, "that there are so many lights on around here that it completely pollutes the sky. You can't see a damn thing…" He threw his arm up arbitrarily toward the sky before letting it flop back down and across his stomach.

"What do you expect? You're in the middle of town. I hardly ever see the stars."

After a few moments of silence he looked back over at her. "What do you want to ask?"

Her eyes got large for a fleeting moment before she turned to him, "Who said I want to ask you anything?"

He shrugged, "No one said it. It's all in your body language."

Now what the hell was he talking about? It was all in her body language… Yeah right. He couldn't be that good at reading her, and she was fairly certain he couldn't read her mind either. She sighed. Even her thoughts were rambling now. She turned her head, once again, to find him staring at her.

She sighed again, feeling defeated, then tuned her head back up to the night sky and replied, "I knew you at the orphanage?"

Well it was about time… "Yes." He couldn't tear his eyes away from her now.

She closed her eyes and thought of that horrid memory from earlier. "Did you know a boy named John when we were there?"

His eyes nearly bugged out, all she could remember was 'John'? "Yes," he replied warily.

What a surprise… She opened her eyes back half way and turned back to him. She looked him up and down through her eyelashes. He didn't sound very thrilled, but she asked anyway, "Well, what do you remember about him?"

He groaned in disgust at the question. "All I remember is a rude, nasty, greedy little boy who couldn't find anyone to adopt him for another four years after you'd left," he said in a low, angry tone.

She flinched at the harshness of his words. She turned her head to the other side and didn't reply for what felt like forever before she heard, "What?"

"That's not how I remember him at all," she told him, still not facing him.

He raised an eyebrow in question, "How do you remember him then?"

Finally her gaze returned to his and she replied, "I don't remember all that much anymore, but remember he was always sweet to me, and he would play with me when no one else was around…" she thought for a moment, "and he was never greedy- except for one occasion in particular…"

He snorted, "And when was that?"

"I don't care to talk about it right now."

"Was it- maybe- the night before you left?" he asked coyly.

Her eyes got slightly larger. "How do you know that?"

He shrugged casually, "I just remember he was really pissed off after you left."

"HE was pissed off?"

He eyed her and replied, "I guess."

She rolled away from him onto her side. How could HE be pissed off. He was the one who picked the fight, he was the one who got so upset over nothing, HE was the one who got to freaking stay there while she had to leave and come HERE.

"Oh, what now?" he asked, but she refused to reply. "Come on, what's up with you?"

She wanted to tell him something, anything, but she was quite literally at a loss for words. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. She flipped back over on to her other side and stared at him blankly.

"What's wrong with the fact her was pissed off?"

She continued to stare blankly. "I don't know, but at least he got to stay there. I was the one who had to leave and start all over again."

He glared at her, "He wasn't all that happy about it."

She scoffed, "Why are you sticking up for him anyway, I thought you hated the guy?"

He didn't respond, but merely turned his gaze back to the stars.

She closed her eyes in frustration as he scowled. "What exactly did he do after I left?"

Vegeta gave her a confused glance. "What do you mean?"

"How could you tell he was so upset and all? I mean, did he act up, mouth off to the teachers, or what?"

He laughed listlessly. "Act up and mouth off? That's not even the beginning! You should've seen how many girls he went through!"

She was utterly shocked, "He dated?"

"He did a lot more than date. That guy went through girls like candy. Envy of every other male there."

Her eyes snapped open and she looked up at his face, "That's why you don't like him?"

"Well… you could say that." He looked down t her, and reached over to move a piece of hair out of her face absently. She didn't move a muscle when he didn't draw his hand back. She sat up and told him she had to go since it was getting rather late. She turned to leave and heard him get up to come along.

Ignoring him she climbed down cautiously and began walking across the grass to her back door. She was a bit startled when he slipped his arm around her waist, but didn't respond physically. When they finally reached the door, she turned around to tell him goodnight, or go away, whatever slipped out.

The second she'd turned though he pulled her close, stole a quick, but soft, kiss, and walked off. She stood, staring at his back and gawked a moment, then got over it and turned back to go inside.

She heard him yell over his shoulder, "Later, Gater."

She stopped dead in her tracks… only John had EVER said that to her…

- - - - - - -

A/N: Okay guys, so I dunno what I want to put down here. Other than to ask what you thought, etc. Haha, and let me know if you're confused at all by the 'John' thing, but I won't give anything away.

Review you guys! I love them!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So yeah… I dunno what to write here actually, but maybe I'll think of something by the end! Hope you guys enjoy it tho, because I've had a writer's block lately… haha, have fun!**

- - - - - - -

Bulma walked in and slammed the door behind her. Then she laughed. 'Later, Gater' was such a common saying… what was she thinking… Right now she was so confused, and she just wanted to scream. Of course she couldn't since Brandon was sleeping.

She sank into a chair. The Briefs were out again, no one would notice her arrival. It seemed like they were always out somewhere, but lately she was noticing it more than usual. They were compassionate parents and all, and they were there when she really needed them. The only problem was that according to them, the only time she 'really needed them' was when she was in big trouble- which never happened- or had a breakdown- which also hadn't happened in years. She kept her emotions to herself now. It was nobody's business anyway…

Her mind began to wonder- again- about Vegeta. She had known him at the orphanage, right? So why was it, that she couldn't remember him in the same ways that he remembered her? She remembered various people, various teachers, and John, of course, but none like Vegeta.

She growled in frustration and rested her forehead against the heel of her hand. It wasn't like she knew _that _many people named Vegeta either. He did remind her slightly of John, but he had never had hair like that, and apparently John had become somewhat of a 'stud' after she left.

That really shocked, and even kind of hurt her. They had always been the best of friends, and he had never dated the entire time she knew him, not even the pseudo-relationships all the other ten and eleven year olds were getting into back then. The only person he'd ever even been affectionate with was her. That had always meant something to her deep down. I guess I can throw those memories out too… I was just a warm-up act, she thought bitterly.

- - - - - - -

_She laughed out loud as John poked her in a particularly ticklish spot on her side. She slapped his hand and gave him a bogus glare. He saw right through her, as usual._

_They had been walking on this old dirt path for what seemed like forever. In reality, it had only been thirty minutes… They weren't even supposed to be out here. Oh well, she thought happily. It was too good a day to waste._

"_Oh wow, Bulma, look at that!" he grabbed her hand and she felt a jolt pulse through her stomach, a new sensation to her. Before she could put any thought in to it, however, he was dragging her along behind him._

"_What are you-"_

"_Shh!" he hushed her and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Look," he then whispered, pointing through the bushes._

_She gave him a strange look, but complied, and was glad she did. It was a doe standing over her baby as it drank from a small pond. She was surprised to find such a sweet scene out here, and even more surprised that John had been the one to point it out. He usually hated such cutesy things…_

"_Oh wow…" she whispered, and looked over at him. She gave a small smile, but when she looked back at the pond, they deer were gone. She gave a frown of disappointment. "I must have scared them away…"_

_He gave a small smirk before grabbing her hand again and pulling her up. They continued down the path, and she noticed that he hadn't dropped her hand yet. She gave him a strange look and asked, "John, why are you still holding my hand?"_

_He glanced back for a split-second before answering, "Because I want to."_

_She laughed, and questioned, "Why would you want to do that?"_

_He turned to face her, "Because I like it."_

_She gave him another strange look, but couldn't find the words she needed to respond to him. He was making her tummy jolt again, and it made her nervous… very, very nervous. She wasn't sure if she liked this feeling…_

_Suddenly he grabbed her other hand. "Do you not want me to?" he asked nervously._

"_Well.. I… yes, er… no… I'm not really…" she turned her face away in a shy blush._

_He laughed again, "Come on Bulma, it's me here!" She still couldn't face him though. This was so weird! John never acted like this, even if he was just messing around. "Come on, let's keep going before it's too dark…"_

_She finally looked back up, "Sure. Okay."_

_He cocked his head at her, and then did something she never saw coming. He leaned forward quickly, and pecked her on the lips! Too stunned to react for a few moments, she stared blankly forward. Quickly, she snapped out of it, and looked up at him, searching his face and his eyes- only to find that he was staring back at hers._

"_Well…" she whispered, breaking the electric silence, "Why did you do **that**?"_

"_Because I was curious," he told her softly. Then, he gave her a smirk and ran off, yelling behind him, "Come on Bulma! I want to see how far we can go before sundown!"_

_She stared blankly after him for a few moment, before shaking her head at the curious boy and running after him laughing happily once more._

- - - - - - -

She felt a single tears roll down her cheek at the sweet memory. That moment had just… meant something special to her. Your first kiss isn't something soon forgotten. And while it wasn't some passionate, tongue-filled, adult… thing. It was romantic in it's own way.

Apparently it hadn't meant much to him. I was just a freaking warm-up act, she thought bitterly. She brushed the tear away roughly with the back of her hand and got up. Not bothering to push the chair in, she walked to the stairs and made her way up slowly. Half way up she groaned after remembering she had a date with Yamcha tomorrow.

After checking on Brandon, she made her way down the hall and into her room. She flopped on to the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Who would have ever thought she wouldn't be looking forward to a date with her long time crush? Wow… hormones suck, she thought.

- - - - - - -

She made her way up the walk beside Yamcha. The date had gone as well as could be expected. Dinner, a movie, typical. Their conversations were lacking to say the least, however. He seemed happy enough the whole time, but all he wanted to talk about were trivial things.

Sports.

Rumors.

Himself.

The last one was his favorite topic, of course. She sighed somberly as he walked happily. She noticed that extra hitch in his step and wished she felt that giddy right now. He just didn't seem to notice her monotonous mood, or maybe he just didn't mind. She wasn't really sure.

"Well, Bulma, I had a great time tonight!" he said, turning to look down at her once they'd reached her door.

She looked up and gave him a courtesy smile, which he took for genuine. "Yeah- me too, Yamcha."

He gave another grin before leaning down to snag a kiss. Her mind raced fretfully as he came closer and closer. Just before his lips made contact with hers, she turned her head. His mouth ended up on her cheek instead, and he drew back, clearly confused.

"Well, thanks for a good times, Yamcha, I'll see you on Monday," she said nervously opening the door and backing half-way in.

"Wait, but I thought-" he tried to say, before having the door shut in his face. He stared blankly at the dimly lit door, completely baffled.

What was wrong with that girl?

- - - - - - -

What was wrong with her?

She leaned against the door, breathing heavily. She sank down a bit and covered her face with one of her hand, dropping her purse with the other. This was what she wanted for so long, so why was it so hard for her to just, give in to temptation? Maybe because she just, well, she wasn't feeling the temptation anymore?

That was such a strange concept to her though. How could she have given up on Yamcha without even realizing it? Right when he was finally seeing her to boot! She growled in complete frustration.

"Hey Bulma!" were the words that brought her right back to earth.

Her head snapped up and she saw Brandon standing across the room. "Brandon! What are you doing up? It's way past your bedtime!"

He looked down at his feet absently, and replied, "Well… no one put me to bed, so I was just playing cards in the kitchen until you got home…"

She smiled softly, then asked in confusion, "Mom and Dad aren't here?"

"Nope," he replied, looking up. He ran across the room, and hopped into her arms as she sank all the way to the ground and sat Indian-style to hold him. The boy was definitely getting heavier by the day. "Besides, it's only nine o'clock! I can…" he stopped mid-sentence, seeing her distant expression, "What's wrong, Bulma?"

"Haha, it's nothing, bud!" she told him.

"Then why do you look so sad?" he tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Nothing important, dear," she told him in her most sincere voice. Suddenly, a thought came to her head as she stood up with him, "How were you playing cards all by yourself, Brandon?"

"Oh," he grinned, "I wasn't!"

"He was playing with **me**."

I know that voice, she thought as a shudder ran through her in surprise. She shook it off and looked back over at Vegeta.

Brandon beamed as he said, "Yeah, Vegeta came over after Mommy and Daddy left to watch me since you weren't here! He played games with me and everything, come on, let's go play some more cards!"

She looked between him and Vegeta a few times before telling him softly, "Well, you know I'd love to, but it is past your bedtime, and I think we'd better get you up to bed."

He groaned in defeat, but complied.

"Don't move," she told Vegeta and took Brandon up to his room. She read a quick story, tucked him in, and turned on his night light as if nothing was wrong. Finally, she shut off his light, closed the door, and made her way back downstairs.

Vegeta hadn't moved a muscle since she'd left a good fifteen minutes ago. "You know, when I said 'Don't move,' I didn't mean it literally."

His head snapped up to look at her, "I learned awhile ago to take every order literally."

She eyed him curiously, but didn't say anything further on that matter. Instead, she asked him, "So, why are you here?"

- - - - - - -

**A/N: Well, it kinda sucked, and not too much happened, but the next chapter should be better.**

**So leave me reviews anyway and tell me what you thought!**

**Rock on- Peace out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow guys… I'm deeply disappointed… I only got ONE comment for the last chapter… that sux majorly… shakes head **

So yeah, I'm not sure whether that means the chapters aren't any good, or no one's reading it or what.

But I REALLY appreciate the one person that DID review! J That person has my permission to enjoy this chapter more than you other guys! The rest of you should still enjoy tho, so yeah, here goes!

- - - - - - -

"The boy already told you," Vegeta said, "I'm merely here to play cards with him."

She crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow at him, "Do you often play cards with six year old boys?"

He scowled at her and replied fiercely, "_No_. Your parent's are out and asked me to watch him."

She gave a slightly shocked look, "But they don't even know you…"

He shrugged. "We met a few days ago actually. Tonight I came over to find you, and they just asked if I could watch him for a bit while they were out."

She smiled mischievously. "So why were you looking for me?"

He frowned and replied, "Don't get any ideas, girl. I just needed your math notes from Friday."

Just as he was turning to go in to the kitchen, she yelled over to him, "Oh, so it had nothing to do with my date with Yamcha tonight?"

He looked over his shoulder. "In your dreams."

She walked on after him. "Well, you were there on Friday, so excuse the confusion."

"Just because I was there doesn't mean I was paying attention," was the cool reply as he began to clean the cards off the table.

She walked over to get some glasses and milk. "I suppose your theory **could** be true, "she sat the glasses at opposite ends of the now-clean table, "Except I distinctly remember seeing you take notes. Which begs the question: Why are you really here?"

He stared at the glass frowning as she sat down , "Who says I'm staying?"

"I did."

He gave her a smirk and sat down, motioning for her to pass the milk. She complied and he told her, "I just didn't want to be home." He looked up and smirked again, "So how _was_ the big date?"

"Lame," she responded nonchalantly.

"Kiss him?" his voice was solemn and she wondered what to say.

"I don't see how it's any of your business." She leaned back in her chair and eyed him up and down.

He seemed quite unaffected though and replied, "I believe it's within the range of being my business since we did kiss- what?- twice last night. I'd like to know how easy you are with everyone else."

Bad choice of words… She glared at him angrily. She wanted so badly just to give him a piece of her mind, but couldn't even find the words she needed to do so. She got up, threw her glass half-way across the room and into the sink, and stormed out to plop down on the couch in the family room, hoping that he took the hint to **leave**.

She felt the couch shift a little a he hopped over the back and sat next to her. Of course not, she thought cynically, and rolled her eyes as the grabbed the remote to turn on the TV. Before she had the chance to press the button, however, he snatched the remote away from her and threw it across the room.

After a moment she let her arm fall back down beside her and she stared at the blank screen. He was looking over at her. She could see it out of the corner of her eye, but refused to look back. He had just… pissed her off to no end. She never went on dates, much less kissed as casually as he had insinuated. She just hated being thought of on such a low level!

"You know I didn't mean it like that," he said quietly.

She glanced over before replying, "So you _didn't_ mean that I make-out with anyone, and you _don't_ think I'm easy, huh?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "No… and no. It just- it came out badly."

"I'll say."

He frowned and told her, "No need to overreact either."

The scowl already on her face deepened and she made no reply. After a few minutes she heard him sigh in exasperation, and that was the final straw. "Is that the only reason you kissed me then?"

He gave a confused look before asking the inevitable, "What?"

"Did _you_," she poked him in the chest, "only kiss _me_," she pointed to herself, "because you thought I was **easy**?" She tilted her head slightly and had a mix of embarrassment and hurt that stained her eyes.

He stared blankly at her. She really thought that? "You answer my question first and then I'll answer yours."

She couldn't believe this guy, but decided to tell him anyway. "No," he hissed, "I did not kiss Yamcha."

"Did he try?"

"Yes."

"Why'd you turn him down?"

She stared at him in disbelief, "Because- oh, I don't know- I didn't _want_ to kiss him. Does that work for you?" she hissed.

"Yes and no," was his simple response.

She looked at him questioningly.

He sighed again, "No, _I_," he pointed to himself, "did not kiss _you_," he pointed to her, "because I thought you were **easy**."

She looked slightly relieved, but was still skeptical, "Then why did you? We're virtual strangers."

"Didn't I answer that last night?" he asked.

"Not very well, no." She shook her head to emphasize her point.

He put a hand against head cheek to stop the shaking, and she instantly felt he butterflies return to her stomach. She looked up at his face as he leaned closer and told her, "Because I wanted to."

Her eyebrow rose as she barely whispered back, "Hasn't anyone _ever_ told you that you don't always get what you want?"

He smirked, "That's the problem, my dear; I've never had what I wanted, and right now I do. How can I pass that up just because of some old saying you like to recite?"

She almost smiled at that. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was paying her a compliment. Of course, after that he leaned forward the remaining distance and captured her lips. She leaned back against the arm of the sofa and placed her hands on the side of his face and he leaned forward against her and rested one hand behind her, and the other on her waist.

He pulled back a bit and she looked into his eyes curiously. He was still so close that she could feel his hot breath on her lips, and yet he made no motion to kiss her again. He seemed frozen and she couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He had completely spaced out. She whispered his name and he immediately snapped out of it. He ran his hand through her hair once and, in turn, pushed it out of her face.

She asked what was wrong and he looked at her awhile longer with absolutely no expression on his face. He gave her one more, quick kiss. "What happened when you first moved here?" The question completely surprised her and she tried to pull back further, but he wouldn't let her. He closed his eyes, "Don't pull away from me, please." He rested his forehead against her shoulder.

She decided to let it be, and asked, "What do you mean what happened?"

She could barely hear his muffled voice as he answered, "I mean, how did these people- your 'parents'- treat you when you moved in with them?"

Though she was still confused, she replied, "Well, I guess they were pretty good parents overall, from what I know about parents. They're just… never around is all."

He looked back up at her, "Did they ever hurt you?"

Now she was truly shocked. Did they ever hurt her? What the hell… She gave him a bemused look and asked, "Where are all these questions coming from?"

"Nowhere," he told her, and this time he pulled away and tried to stand up. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back down on to the couch before he could walk away though.

She searched his face for any hint of an answer to all these strangely dark questions. She made him face her somehow. "Why are you asking me things like that?"

He scowled stubbornly. "I just heard that happens sometimes."

"Has it happened to you?" Bingo. She could tell right away she had hit the nail on the head. "Oh my God, that has happened to you!"

He looked over at her, frowning, "**No**, it hasn't."

She stared at him skeptically. "You know, you could tell me-"

"Actually, no, I can't, because there's nothing to tell! I just wanted to make sure it hadn't happened to **you**."

She wasn't sure what she thought about his answer, and wasn't really given a chance to ponder it as she noticed he was getting up to leave. She frowned and grabbed his hand to pull him down. He fell back with a thud and looked over at her with a frown. "Now you're the one over reacting, Vegeta."

He continued to scowl, and she didn't know what else to say. She put a hand in her hair and ran it through, letting it rest at the back of her neck while she looked down, thinking. The frown had mostly disappeared from his face by now, but he didn't know what to say either. "It's late," managed to make it's way out of his mouth.

She looked up, "Yes, it is." Wow, this conversation had taken a downward spiral…

He got up again to leave, but instead of stopping him this time, she got up as well and followed him to the front door. He opened it but then froze. After a few moments that felt like hours, he whipped around and looked down on her. Everything stayed completely silent, and out of nowhere, he put he hands on her shoulders and swooped down, kissing her yet again, but it was softer this time.

He pulled back after a bit, and she looked up at him. "Why do you keep _doing_ that?"

He looked at her, with a half grin on his face and told her quietly, "I was curious."

And then he was gone, the door shut behind him. She was staring at it blankly.

- - - - - - -

**A/N: Well, that one wasn't so bad, now was it? I kinda liked it, even tho it was a bit.. Random? At best.**

_**REVIEW PEOPLE (I need to know what u think)!**_


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